As I watch the news and hear the updates about Fridays
shooting in Connecticut I keep thinking about how it could have been
prevented. I hear people talk about gun
control and mental health issues but for me I keep thinking about the things I
noticed about school security as a substitute teacher in Utah County.
Being a California girl I went to school in a very different
setting from most kid around the country.
All my schools were spread out, single story and all our classroom doors
faced outside. The corridors were barely
covered enough to keep us dry when it rained.
You would think that setting would make me feel worried for my sibling
and friends in California who are still in schools like that, but I don’t. The fences were high, we had a police officer
on my high school campus, and the only open door was through the office, each
door and fence was locked from the inside.
My senior year of high school we had to go into lock down because a man
brought a knife and tried to attack people, he never got past the office
door. I know that a knife is not the
same as a gun, but still.
I worry so much more about my teacher friends and students I taught here in Utah County. Even someone bearing only a knife could cause serious problems in most of the schools I taught in. The only school I don’t worry about is a charter school in Pleasant Grove. None of the other schools had a buzzer system, double doors, or even doors that actually lead straight into the office. The main doors lead into a hallway that went past the office but only the secretary could even see them, if she was actually sitting at the desk. Many of the schools playgrounds were actually public parks with no fencing between the two play areas. I remember one time in particular I was on duty at recess; I was the only teacher out there keeping an eye on 150 children, 150 and fifty children I had never meet before and new nothing about. On the same playground a group of men in their 20s were playing soccer. I asked another teacher if I should call the office and get them kicked off and was informed that they were allowed to be there because it was a public park and I should just keep an eye out. It was me against 150 kids. Luckily nothing happened and everyone got back in to their classroom but things like that happen at that school, and other schools across the county every day.
I was a stranger coming into schools and was never asked for ID all I had to do was sign the book and sometimes hand over my car keys so I could get keys to my classroom. One time I showed up in the office for a job and no one was even in the front office, I had to call out and a voice said “Oh, just sign into the green folder, the teachers name and room number is next to yours the room is unlocked.” The secretary didn't even visually check to make sure I looked like a substitute. I wasn't given keys and would have had no way to lock the door if something bad had happened. In fact there were some classrooms I was teaching in where it was so open with windows and open doors that I have no idea I would have protected my students.
I have felt uncomfortable about it and grateful that my son will not attend school in Utah County because of the things I saw in regards to safety, but never felt the need to say anything publicly. Now in light of what happened this weekend I feel the need to speak out. Parents of Provo, Orem, Pleasant Grove, and Alpine, you need to make an outcry. If something like this happened here things could be worse because your schools are not even as secure as Sandy Hook was. Not only could someone come in with a gun but someone could walk in at recess and walk off with a child.
